How Media Drive Online Success: Increasing Web Traffic and Search

How Media Drive Online Success: Increasing Web Traffic and Search As consumer activity on the web increases, marketers are making the Internet a more important element in their marketing plans, seeking to drive consumers to their websites. As a result, web traffic and search results are increasingly regarded as measures of marketing success. To strengthen marketers drive to web efforts, Magazine Publishers of America has complied independent research that documents how various online and offline media influence consumers online behavior, including: The role of media in driving online traffic, search and purchase behavior The role of media in driving consumer response to online video ads The research includes both third-party surveys from the American Advertising Federation (AAF), BigResearch (in a study done for the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association), Mediamark Research, Inc., and the Online Publishers Association, as well as a new quantitative analysis from the research and consulting firm Marketing Evolution that shows the impact of magazines in affecting web visits, examining results throughout the purchase funnel. Overall Conclusions Offline media perform well in driving web traffic and search often better than online media, even when URL addresses are often missing or not prominently displayed in offline ads Media synergy is important, although each medium influences online behavior differently and plays a distinctive role Looking at qualified search those consumers ready to make a purchase paints a different picture of media usage than total search, which is most often the focus of advertisers When looking at the role individual media play in driving web results, magazines most consistently drive web traffic and search Conclusions from Quantitative Analysis Magazine ads had a major impact on building web traffic Magazine ads generated web traffic at each stage of the purchase funnel, especially purchase intent Including a URL in magazine ads significantly increased web visits

How Media Build Web Traffic What Marketers Think A recent survey by the American Advertising Federation (AAF) sought to find out which media marketers considered most effective for driving traffic to advertisers websites or other web-based marketing sites, such as those related to online promotions/offers. Marketers selected magazines as the most effective in driving consumers online more than eight percentage points higher than broadcast TV and roughly ten percentage points higher than cable TV, the second and third highest rated media. Effectiveness of Media at Driving Consumers to the Web Magazines 26.0% Broadcast TV 17.8% Cable TV 16.4% Newspapers 13.7% Radio 11.0% Out of Home 8.2% Other 6.8% Source: ICOM, American Advertising Federation (AAF) 2006 Quantifying How Magazines Build Web Traffic Marketing Evolution aggregated nine client-commissioned studies conducted since 2004 that had quantifiable data on web visits to examine how magazine ads contributed to building web traffic. This study was a subset of Marketing Evolution s extensive work in which clients examined how different media and media combinations deliver results at each stage of the purchase funnel. Importantly, this new research looked at what consumers do versus what they say they will do, as the results were based on tracking actual web traffic, using cookies. Specifically, they studied: The impact of magazines in building web traffic How magazines influence web traffic across the purchase funnel The impact of including a URL in the advertising creative on results 2

Magazines were assessed independently from other media, given significant differences in creative approaches by medium. The product categories available for analysis included automotive, consumer electronics, health and beauty, and entertainment brands. Only automotive had sufficient data to be studied separately. To calculate the impact of magazines in influencing web traffic, Marketing Evolution compared the number of online visits among consumers who saw magazine ads (an exposed group) to consumers who read different issues of the same magazines without any exposure to the ads (the control group). The difference in percentage between control group (non-exposed) visits and exposed group visits is the measure attributed to magazine advertising effectiveness. From the aggregated results of these nine studies, Marketing Evolution made three key findings regarding the contribution of magazines to building web traffic: Magazine ads had a major impact on building web traffic Magazine ads generated web traffic at each stage of the purchase funnel, particularly purchase intent Including a URL address in magazine ads significantly increased web visits How Magazine Ads Build Web Traffic Overall More than a 40% lift in web traffic occurred across all nine studies after consumers were exposed to magazine advertisements compared to a control group of respondents who were not exposed to magazine ads. This increase represented more than one million unique visitors per brand. Graph interpretation: If 1,000 people saw the magazine ad, seventy of these people visited the brand s website without being exposed to the magazine ads. In the group exposed to magazine ads, 100 of the 1,000 people visited the website. The incremental 43% (three point) lift was due to the magazine ad exposure. Percent of Group to Visit Brand Website 3 7% 0 2 4 6 8 10 Aggregated base sizes Control n = 21,410 Exposed n = 22,619 Source: Marketing Evolution 2004-2007 10% For complete information on the impact of different media throughout the various stages of the purchase funnel, visit www.magazine.org/accountabilty. 3

How Magazine Ads Build Web Traffic Across the Purchase Funnel Magazines contributed to building web traffic across the purchase funnel, especially excelling at influencing purchase intent, often considered the most important stage. Percent of Group to Visit Brand Website at Each Stage of Purchase Funnel Aware of Product or Brand 2 11% 13% Intend to Get More Information 4 21% 25% Intend to Purchase 9 30% 39% 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Analysis completed at the individual respondent level. Control n = 4,260 Exposed n = 4,492 Source: Marketing Evolution 2004 2007 Including a URL in Magazine Ads Increases Web Visits Despite the statistically significant impact of magazine advertising on web traffic in the nine aggregated studies, less than half included a web address (URL) in the ad. When the URL was included in the magazine advertising creative, the percent change in visits tripled from two to six points. Percent of Group to Visit Brand Website No URL Included 5% 7% 2 URL Included 6 13% 19% 0 5 10 15 20 Analysis completed at the study level. 4 studies include URL and 5 studies do not include URL. Aggregated base sizes Control n = 21,410 Exposed n = 22,619 Source: Marketing Evolution 2004 2007 4

How Magazine Ads Drive Automotive Brands Web Traffic As part of their analysis on how magazines drive web traffic, Marketing Evolution was able to examine the automotive category separately, comparing online visits among consumers who saw magazine ads (an exposed group) to consumers who read the different issues of the same magazines without any exposure to the ads (the control group). As with the aggregated studies findings overall, they found that in all the automotive cases, magazine ads had significant impact in driving traffic to the brands websites with an average increase of seven points, representing an 85% lift, over the control group. Automotive Overall Percent of Group to Visit Brand Website 8% 15% 7 0 3 6 9 12 15 Analysis completed at the study level. Three studies included. Aggregated base sizes Control n = 10,655 Exposed n = 10,194 Source: Marketing Evolution 2004 2007 As in the nine studies overall, magazines increased web visits across all levels of the automotive purchase funnel particularly at the lower stages of the funnel (gathering information and purchase intent). Percent of Group to Visit Brand Website at Each Stage of the Auto Purchase Funnel Aware of Product or Brand 8% 13% 6 Intend to Get More Information 12 21% 33% Intend to Purchase 27% 38% 12 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Analysis completed at the individual respondent level. Control n = 6,786 Exposed n = 7,162 Source: Marketing Evolution, 2004 2007 5

How Media Drive Web Search Media That Prompt Online Searches for Merchandise BIGresearch conducted a study for the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association (RAMA) to help advertisers understand which media perform best at influencing consumers to start a search for merchandise online. The results show: Offline media generally ranked ahead of online media and word-of-mouth: print and TV sites took the top four spots Magazines prompted web searches more than any other medium Results generally held true by gender and age Top 10 Media that Trigger an Online Search (Adults 18+) Medium (percent) Overall M F 18 24 25 34 35 44 45 54 55 64 65+ Magazines 52% 52% 51% 60% 56% 50% 48% 50% 48% TV/Broadcast 44 47 41 45 46 45 45 45 39 Newspapers 41 42 40 30 34 40 43 49 52 TV/Cable 36 40 31 55 45 35 30 28 24 Face-to-Face 35 39 32 49 40 37 33 31 24 E-mail Advertising 30 30 31 37 33 30 29 29 26 Direct Mail 29 28 31 26 29 30 30 31 30 Radio 28 32 25 31 35 30 27 24 20 Internet Advertising 27 31 24 41 33 26 25 23 18 Outdoor 11 12 10 16 16 11 11 8 5 Source: BIGresearch, July 2007, for the Retail Advertising & Marketing Association. (Sample Size: 15,439, age 18+) Media That Drive Prospects to Search: Total and Qualified JupiterResearch conducted a study on behalf of the search engine marketing firm iprospect to gain a better understanding of how exposure to offline channels influences search and purchase behavior of search engine users. In the study, two out of three search engine users said that they initiated their search for a company, product, or service because of an offline ad. Television and magazine/newspaper ads led results, far outpacing radio and out-of-home ads. JupiterResearch took the research a step further by finding out which media that prompted searches resulted in a purchase. It found that two out of five online search users (39%) who perform a search as a result of exposure to advertising in an offline channel end up making a purchase as a result of that search. Magazine and newspaper ads were the most influential media at generating qualified traffic (based on the percent making a purchase after conducting a search) compared to TV, radio or out-of-home, which produced relatively similar results. 6

Sources That Prompted an Online Search Television Ad 37 Magazine/Newspaper Ad 30 Radio Ad 17 Billboard/Indoor/Sports Venue Sign 9 Source: JupiterResearch, 2007 % Offline Sources that Drive Qualified Traffic to Websites Made purchase after conducting an online search % Magazine/Newspaper Ad 30 Television Ad 23 Radio Ad 22 Billboard/Indoor/Sports Venue Sign 19 Source: JupiterResearch, 2007 Offline Media Users Behavior on the Web Multimedia data from Mediamark Research, Inc. (MRI) provide additional perspective on using offline media to drive online behavior. The information, based on examining heavy usage of offline media, show that print media users, led by magazines, are more likely than users of other offline media to take action by seeking information and making purchases on the Internet. Likelihood of Buying and Searching Online by Medium Indices versus Total U.S. Adults (100) Heavy Heavy Heavy Heavy Magazine Newspaper Radio Television Obtained in Past 30 Days: Readers Readers Listeners Viewers Information for new or used car purchase 171 121 122 69 Childcare or parenting information 200 111 92 79 Medical information 154 144 96 79 Information about real estate 152 138 106 55 Financial information or tracked investments or traded stocks/bonds or mutual funds 141 135 95 59 Make a purchase for business use 154 138 112 47 Make a purchase for personal use 138 126 99 57 Downloaded music 174 105 112 66 Downloaded podcasts/podcasting 173 138 71 49 Source: MRI, Fall 2006 7

How Media Drive Consumer Response to Online Video Ads Research consistently shows that offline media drive consumers to the web and prompt them to take action, but what about the websites of offline media? A survey conducted by the Online Publishers Association (OPA) asked online users what action(s) they have taken as a result of viewing an online video ad on a variety of sites. OPA s results show that: Offline media-branded websites such as magazine and national newspaper sites and national broadcast and cable TV sites ranked in four of the top five website categories studied at driving viewers to take some kind of action as a result of viewing an online video ad Magazine sites consistently outperformed the other media sites, including in such critical actions as checking out a company website, going to a store to check out the product and calling a toll-free number Actions Taken From Viewing Online Video Ads Medium (percent) Checked Searched Clicked Talked to Went to Requested Signed up Called out company for on banner friends store to check more for a toll-free websites info ad and family product info product trial number Magazine Sites 45 38 30 27 29 28 18 14 Online-Only News + Info 42 35 29 22 26 23 16 10 Natl. Newspaper Sites 40 37 25 23 22 23 15 10 Natl. Broadcast TV Sites 38 31 25 22 19 19 12 7 Cable TV Sites 38 30 25 22 20 19 12 8 Portals 37 34 25 27 24 23 14 10 User-Generated Sites 35 24 20 18 14 14 9 5 Source: Online Publishers Association, June 2007 Magazine Publishers of America (MPA) is the industry trade association for consumer magazines. Established in 1919, MPA represents more than 240 domestic publishing companies with approximately 1,400 titles, more than 80 international companies and more than 100 associate members. For information on the research presented here, please contact Wayne Eadie, Senior Vice President, Research, Magazine Publishers of America, at weadie@magazine.org. For copies of MPA resources, please e-mail promotion@magazine.org or visit MPA s website: www.magazine.org. Magazine Publishers of America 810 Seventh Avenue, 24th Floor, New York, NY 10019 Tel. 212.872.3700 www.magazine.org How Media Drive Online Success: Increasing Web Traffic and Search Copyright 2007 Magazine Publishers of America 8